Cooking for Health: Culinary Skills in Action Chapter 8 Cooking for Health: Culinary Skills in Action

Learning Objectives After completing this chapter, you should be able to: • Explain how cooking and cooking methods affect nutrition. • Explain the difference between the center-of-plate concept and the MyPlate model. • Describe how to modify and adapt recipes according to the latest dietary recommendations, and explain the importance of adopting standardized recipes. • Identify effective ways to organize and store recipes and to make recipes accessible to staff.

Learning Objectives continued: After completing this chapter, you should be able to: • Explain how to train staff to use scales and measuring tools. • Describe the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of employee training on measurement tools and procedures as well as providing feedback to employees.

Cooking Healthfully and Tastefully Appealing to the Senses Appearance

Maintain Nutrients with Careful Preparation and Cooking Portion Size and Plating Visual Cues and Plate Size

Adapting Recipes for Improved Nutrition Solid Fat Sodium Added Sugars Adding Nutrients to Make Meals Healthy Some Food Science

Modification by Changing Cooking Techniques

Modification by Replacing Select Ingredients

Choosing Healthier Fats

Margarine versus Butter

Other Saturated Fats Leaner Cuts of Meat

Modification by Adding Select Ingredients Examples of Recipe Modification Modifications in Baking Modifications in Soups, Sauces, and Gravies Modifications for Meat Modifications for Seafood Modifications for Vegetables Modifications for Desserts

Modifications for Garnishes Modifications for Reducing Salt

Organizing and Disseminating Standardized Recipes

Ensuring That Recipes Are Used

Teaching Portion-Control Principles Taking Measure Scales

Volumetric Measures

Temperature Tools

Observing and Evaluating Employee Performance

1. Explain how cooking and cooking methods affect nutrition. Light, heat, acidity, and alkalinity can change, diminish, or destroy the nutrients in food. Water-soluble vitamins and minerals can be lost due to leaching if they have been soaked in water. Therefore, fruit and vegetables should be washed and rinsed quickly and carefully to help retain their vitamins and minerals. In addition to careful preparation, minimal cooking time helps preserve vitamins and minerals, especially water-soluble vitamins. Steaming, microwaving, and stir-frying are good methods. Healthy cooking techniques are summarized in Exhibit 8.4.

2. Explain the difference between the center-of-plate concept and the MyPlate model. The traditional center-of-plate concept emphasizes a large, featured protein food item surrounded by smaller, less-important side dishes. The MyPlate model, which is more in line with current dietary recommendations, calls for a balanced plate of more equally sized portions of food items that offer a variety of nutrients.

3. Describe how to modify and adapt recipes according to the latest dietary recommendations, and explain the importance of adopting standardized recipes. Recipes should contain less solid fat, including saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. Recipes can be adapted for these changes by using little or no butter, sour cream, shortening, or cream. Healthy fats such as olive oils, canola oils, and nut oils can be used in place of solid fats. The use of trans-fatty acids should be avoided. Recipes should contain fewer eggs and high-fat meat to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol. Turkey, chicken, and fish can be used along with lean cuts of beef in appropriate portions. Vegetable proteins such as beans and peas can be used to increase plant protein.

Added sugars should be reduced in recipes and in desserts. 3. Describe how to modify and adapt recipes according to the latest dietary recommendations, and explain the importance of adopting standardized recipes continued... Recipes can be adapted to increase flavor through cooking techniques and the use of spices and herbs to lower salt, and therefore sodium. Recipes should feature more whole-grain products and less refined grains. Added sugars should be reduced in recipes and in desserts. Standardizing all recipes in an operation can control many factors, including costs, waste, portion size, nutritional composition, equipment usage, and staff requirements. All staff must have access to the standardized recipes to ensure proper implementation.

4. Identify effective ways to organize and store recipes and to make recipes accessible to staff. Recipes should be assembled in a written format with large enough print for all staff to see. Employees should be trained on the location, organization, and use of the recipes. Use a consistent format that works for the operation. Computer systems are convenient because they allow for permanent files for recipes, and they allow copies of recipes to be stored off the premises.

5. Explain how to train staff to use scales and measuring tools. Use the appropriate scales and measures for each part of the operation. In addition to making the tools available to the staff, provide adequate training so that the equipment is used consistently and accurately. Some equipment, such as thermometers, also plays a role in food- preparation safety because some types of undercooked meat may present a health hazard to customers.

6. Describe the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of employee training on measurement tools and procedures as well as providing feedback to employees. During training, managers should provide immediate feedback to employees. Positive feedback is just as important as corrective feedback when it comes to live training. Set aside time for practice using measurement equipment. In order for employees to follow the portioning that they have been taught, they need to know that they will be corrected if the plate is served incorrectly.

Key Terms: Center-of-plate concept The concept that a meal should be focused on an expensive centerpiece item, usually a protein-rich food such as meat, poultry, or fish, with the rest of the meal’s components treated as accompaniments. Coulis A thick, pureed sauce made from either vegetables or fruit. Emulsion sauce A sauce made from two or more ingredients that do not combine easily. Infused oil An oil that has been heated with seasonings to enhance flavor. Jus The French term for juice. Maillard reaction The interaction between an amino acid and a sugar to form browning and a variety of flavors.

Key Terms continued: Marbling Fat that lies intramuscularly in meat and adds to tenderness and flavor when cooked. Mother sauce A classic sauce from which other sauces are made. Pathogen One of a group of disease-causing microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites. Purée, A finely mashed food, usually a fruit or vegetable, that is smooth and uniform in texture. Reduction sauce A sauce formed when a liquid is boiled until the water evaporates and the remaining juice is thickened. Roux A cooked mixture of fat and flour. Slurry A thin paste made from water or stock mixed with starch, such as cornstarch. Volume measure A measurement taken using a tool that determines how much space an item takes up.

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